The one PA. school district that is hiring teachers gets 1,200 applications

[JPZenger]

The ranks of public teachers in PA have been decimated during the Corbett years. The number of jobs eliminated is somewhere over 25,000. Even the richest school districts have shrunk by attrition, while the poorest districts have laid off hundreds (and thousands in Philadelphia). This year, one large school district is actually hiring teachers. They received 1,200 applications.

http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/bethlehem/index.ssf/2013/07/teaching_job_openings_draw_a_f.html#incart_river

Excerpt:

"Almost two-thirds of the 187 Pennsylvania school districts that responded to a financial health survey this spring indicated they planned to cut staff by not filling vacancies. Twenty percent planned to furlough teachers, according to the joint survey by the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators and the Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials.

The Allentown School District cut 151 positions in its 2013-14 budget resulting in 100 teachers being laid off, although 26 positions have been restored due to an increase in state aid. In 2011-12, Allentown cut 204 jobs resulting in the furlough of 112 teachers. The Easton Area School District cut 42 jobs in its current budget, resulting in 11 people losing their jobs, and last year cut 102 jobs.

"I'm concerned we're going to have a generation of teachers that give up," Atkinson said.

Only a few years ago, Bethlehem was forced to cut 8 percent of its workforce after several years of budgets with smaller job cuts. The district has rebuilt its savings through tax hikes, underspending of the budget and one-time infusions of cash. "

[hedgehog]

1. Here in New York - teachers are required to have a Master's degree.

It gets better - once the degree is in hand, the clock starts ticking. If you don't get a teaching job within a certain time frame, you have to go back to school! Kind of tough when school districts are cutting back.

In the towns and small cities, we have a good school system. Cuomo is wiping that out.

[eppur_se_muova]

2. What you put in bold.

We're also going to have a generation of would-be teachers who decide to choose another major.

[JPZenger]

3. Yes, many students are reconsidering education majors

Hopefully, the job market will get better for teachers after we elect a Democratic Governor and after schools find they can't shrink their staffs any further. I know of at least one college freshman who would be a great teacher who is looking for another major. Also, some of the most highly motivated young teachers were laid off in PA over the last 3 years. That included many minority teachers who served as strong role models for students. The public schools had put great efforts into recruiting minority teachers, and then had to kick them out.